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Saturday, 28 May 2005

Separation of State and School

I'm just listening to a fascinating online interview on The Moral and Practical case for Completely Private Educationhere at Prodos.Com. (You'll need Real Player to listen.) Much better than listening to the bland conformity of, for example, New Zealand State Radio while drinking your coffee on a Saturday afternoon.

From Prodos' site, topics covered include the following (and a number of strange diversions on catholicism and history!):

Why do most people assume the solution to education should be government based?

Where in the world are most people rejecting government involvement in education?

Margaret Thatcher’s reaction when Marshall Fritz asked her what she thought about getting rid of government schooling.

Public education as a monopoly.

The problem with “common schooling" and the lowest common denominator, blandness, conformity, relativism, and “going on feelings”.

The aim of government education as breeding conformity, obedience, dependence.

Government schooling as a state jobs program for teachers.

Who makes the decisions in a government system as to which of the many possible approaches to education the state system will use?

What about parents who are irresponsible? Who won’t educate their kids?

In a totally private, free school market will schools likely be larger or smaller?

The three stages of radical change.

I've got my own ideas about radical change here, and my own arguments about education that you may want to check out here. (And do check out Ludwig von Mises' book 'The Anti-Capitalist Mentality' recommended on the show, online here.)

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